Three Renowned Wine Regions Join Growing Global Coalition to Protect Wine Place NamesDeclaration expands to 19 with addition of Bordeaux, Bourgogne/Chablis and Santa Barbara County

EPERNAY, France—The American wine region of Santa Barbara County, California, and French wine regions Bordeaux and Bourgogne/Chablis became the latest signatories of the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin, a global movement aimed at ensuring wine place names are protected and not abused or mis-communicated to consumers.

“The attention around protection of place names has really taken off in recent years. The addition of these prominent regions only underscores that,” said Linda Reiff, president and CEO of the Napa Valley Vintners, one of the founding signatories to the Declaration. “While we all may compete in the marketplace, through the Declaration initiative, we want to take a very clear, collective stand that protection of place names is always in the consumer’s best interest.”

Representatives from Santa Barbara, Bourgogne/Chablis and Bordeaux are attending coordinating meetings with other Declaration members in the Champagne region of France this week and will participate in activities being outlined for the coming year. Champagne is also one of the founding signatories to the Declaration.

“We are honored to join this esteemed group of the world’s leading wine regions. Santa Barbara County wines, like all those represented in this coalition, are unique. They can’t be duplicated anywhere else in the world and today we come together to recognize that nothing shapes a wine’s character like its location,” said Morgen McLaughlin, executive director of the Santa Barbara Vintners.

The Declaration meetings come at a time when there is considerable momentum building globally to protect place names and demand accurate and fair labeling. Recently, the Canadian government updated its laws to require all wines labeled “Champagne” truly come from Champagne, France. In 2013, Chinese trade officials formally recognized the names of Napa Valley and Champagne, thus prohibiting the misuse of these place names within its borders.“Regions like Bordeaux, Bourgogne/Chablis, Santa Barbara and Napa Valley are unlike any place else in the world and the evolution and growth of the wine industry rests on the protection of place names. Wine consumers are becoming more and more educated about what they consume,” said Fabien Bova, director general of the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB). “Wine labels need to reflect the true regions from which a winehails and consumers must be protected from those who fail to recognize the distinguishing features that makes all regional wines unique.”

André Ségala, General Manager of the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) added, “We are proud of our region’s winemaking history and its identity, which sets us apart. There is fierce competition across the world, and as such, we continue to raise the profile of our wines. Name protection is essential to ensuring the authenticity of the product we share with consumers.”

By becoming signatories of the Declaration, members agree that geographic names are fundamental tools for consumers to identify the special wines associated with specific winegrowing regions. And as such, they commit to work together to bring the necessary awareness and advocacy to bear to ensure these names are protected and respected. From great winegrowing regions to consumer rights groups to everyday wine consumers, more and more are making their voices heard in the campaign to protect wine place names.

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About the DeclarationThe Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place Names & Origin was signed in Napa Valley on July 26, 2005. Other signatories of the Declaration include: Champagne, Chianti Classico, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Long Island, Napa Valley, Oregon, Paso Robles, Porto, Rioja, Sonoma County, Victoria, Tokaj, Walla Walla Valley, Washington state, Willamette Valley and Western Australia. To lend support and read the full text of the Declaration visit www.protectplace.com.